Director Animation Sound Design Jobs in Elgin, IL

Company Description

Hi there! We're Razorfish. We've been leading the marketing industry with our digital expertise since the start of the internet. But in 2020, we did a full reboot. What's different? It all starts with people. Weird, wonderful, complex people - with diverse backgrounds in strategy, creative and technology. But no matter how different we are, we all have one thing in common. We believe our differences are our strength. So we push for inclusion, challenge convention and bring in new perspectives, to inspire new ideas. Because when we connect by understanding what makes people different, we can create unforgettable experiences that enrich lives. Join us at razorfish.com.

Overview

We're looking for a Sr. Art Director with a background in digital, motion, and animation design to help us manage and lead cutting edge design thinking for one of today's top automotive clients.

In this role, you'll dream up new campaign ideas and then bring them to life by making pixels dance, turning concepts into memorable, on-brand visual experiences. You'll be joining a diverse design team, becoming an important cog in a fine-tuned machine. You'll partner cross-functionally with clients and creative teams to create compelling stories and quality product and lifestyle content across digital, social, email, web, mobile, video, and whatever wild format the internet dreams up next.

So who are you? You are a leader that can motivate a team to create world-class work with the confidence to approve copy and art for one of the world's premiere automotive brands. You can build trust with the client by presenting design thinking and marketing solutions to real business problems. You are thoughtful and collaborative with a passion for design, marketing, and execution. And, most importantly, your personal killer app is owning a brand voice and understanding how that is expressed in all mediums. And if you love cars and car culture? Well, that's just a bonus.

PLEASE NOTE: Preference will be given to candidates who are local to the Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, or Miami metros and willing to commit to a hybrid schedule of 3 days/week on average. Highly qualified candidates living in other markets may also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Absorb, adapt, and convey brand aesthetic by conceptualizing, art directing, and designing visual campaign assets and motion graphics for a wide variety of deliverables across site, video, social, email, banners, and more.
• Develop storyboards, style frames, and visual concepts in collaboration with art directors, designers, producers, and strategists.
• Lead 2D and 3D animation pipelines as needed, working closely with post-production leadership.
• Produce, edit, adapt, version, and localize video content for diverse media platforms in support of global brand campaigns across multiple countries.
• Translate complex ideas into compelling visual narratives that align with brand tone, voice, and messaging.
• Use motion design to enhance UX, communicate value propositions, and create memorable branded experiences.
• Lead brainstorming sessions, critiques, reviews, and team meetings to develop, iterate, and innovate creative solutions for client projects.
• Facilitate communication within and between teams to simplify complex information and ensure alignment to project goals.
• Composite video and mix sound to deliver polished, high-quality outputs.
• Plan, manage, and help maintain detailed production schedules and logistics in coordination with project managers and team members to ensure timely delivery.
• Partner with asset management teams to oversee delivery and organization of master assets, open files, and adaptations and maintain rigorous version control, naming conventions, and file organization to streamline workflows.
• Stay current on industry trends and technologies, pushing creative boundaries and integrating emerging tools like AI where appropriate.
• Solve creative and technical challenges with a proactive, solutions-first mindset.
• Conduct thorough quality checks to ensure work meets design and brand standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure consistency across all touchpoints while adapting design style for different clients and media types.
• Mentor and support more junior designers, fostering skill development and growth.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a post-production studio, ad agency, or in-house creative team with a strong digital focus.
• Mastery of After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and Powerpoint.
• Experience with additional 2D/3D tools (Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya, Nuke, Flame, etc.) is a plus.
• Experience working with AI and integrating those tools into a design process strongly preferred.
• Extensive experience conceptualizing, creating, and art directing a variety of visual assets including web/site animations, animated logos/product images, supers, snips, paid media, banner ads, storyboards, explainer videos, reels, shortform social, splash videos, and similar assets.
• Experience building soundtracks and audio for video/animations is a plus.
• Experience building and presenting decks to teams and clients.
• Very strong understanding of digital responsive design systems, component libraries, layout, typography, color theory, design composition, and motion principles including timing, easing, acceleration curves, etc.
• Strong conceptual and storytelling capability with an ability to think visually and translate strategy into design.
• Familiarity with web accessibility standards.
• Experience working with automotive brands is a plus.
• Highly collaborative but independently capable.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• An ability to both lead and serve as a part of a creative team on a large account, moving seamlessly between concept, design, execution, and management to ensure that the machine is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Provide and accept constructive feedback, helping others (and yourself!) improve their understanding and execution of the craft.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional, geographically-distributed teams including CDs, copy, design, CGI artists, photographers, project management, accounts, and other delivery partners.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, continuously-evolving environment.
• Very strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with a high degree of emotional intelligence and an ability to articulate and defend design choices and ideas for innovation.
• Curiosity, hustle, and a sense of humor. Always.
• A digital portfolio and/or reel is required and must be submitted with your application. Your work should showcase a strong sense of animation, branding, and interactive design across video, websites, email, and banners.

Additional Information

The Power of One starts with our people! To do powerful things, we offer powerful resources. Our best-in-class wellness and benefits offerings include:

• Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more
• Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy and Fertility
• Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption
• Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements to help you invest in your future and work/life balance
• Tuition Assistance
• Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more
• Matching Gifts programs
• Flexible working arrangements
• 'Work Your World' Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility)
• Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances

The benefits offerings listed are available to eligible U.S. Based employees, are reviewed on an annual basis, and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.

Razorfish is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our employment decisions are made without regard to actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, medical condition as defined by applicable state law, genetic information, marital status, military service and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact USMSTACompliance@publicis.com.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Compensation Range: $79,990-$109,500 annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be October 7, 2025.

 Compensation Range: USD $79,990.00 - USD $109,500.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 11/15/2025.Employment Type: OTHER